Wild Turkey 101 offers a lesson in traditional American values, most notably the refusal to compromise on standards of excellence. This iconic bourbon is perfectly aged a minimum of five years in American White Oak barrels with the deepest #4 alligator char for more character.
Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon is Wild Turkey’s flagship brand. Wild Turkey is distilled at a very low proof and according to the company, helps embody all of the barrel flavors during aging. It comes out of the barrel at around 109 proof necessitating only slight dilution before being bottled at 101 proof. This process helps produce a final product that, although not barrel proof, is close to what came right out of the barrel. Wild Turkey uses char #4 on their barrels which helps create the company’s flavor profile and deep color. Wild Turkey Master Distiller Jimmy Russell is the longest-tenured active master distiller in the world with 60 years experience and has worked at WIld Turkey in total for more than 65 years.
NOSE
Immediately noticeable is a light corn oil presence which sets the stage for a nice mouthfeel. This is layered with a healthy dose of rye spice, baking spices, and sharp oak, along with a gentle layer of vanilla and toasted oak. While the palate isn’t overly complex, it provides a really good reminder that if you focus on the fundamentals, you can still provide a solid experience for the drinker.
finish
The Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon expression is by far the most recognizable of the brands the company produces. However, the brand can hold negative connotations for many, whether it was due to a bad experience when they started drinking whiskey, the lower price point, or even the label design used. Thankfully, that last point was addressed with a refresh of the brand’s label in 2021, which gives the bottle a more modern and upscale feel compared to the last time we reviewed Wild Turkey 101 in 2015.
Aesthetics aside, what has allowed Wild Turkey to stay relevant over all of these decades is its ability to deliver a consistently good pour year over year. It doesn’t do it through barrel finishing or exotic grains in its mashbill. Instead, the brand has stuck to tried and true methods that don’t deviate over time. It’s the foundation that the Russell’s laid and continue to honor year after year that allows the brand to maintain its relevance today
value
Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon is a throwback to the time when you didn’t need a ton of money to buy a good, dependable bourbon. Barely increasing in price, it can easily be found for around $25 at any given moment around the nation. This is the point that especially makes Wild Turkey 101 such a good value. It doesn’t matter where you live, it is almost always readily available at a price that won’t break the bank. That’s hard to come by nowadays, and Wild Turkey should be given kudos for providing this bourbon at a price that is accessible to all walks of life.
Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon is everything one would want out of a bourbon. It contains a tried and true sip that sticks to classic bourbon flavors, that is versatile and easily drunk neat or mixed into a cocktail. Not one to deviate from the norm, the Wild Turkey 101 brand, which was created in the 1940’s and enters its 8th decadeb, continues to deliver a reliable pour. It’s this simplistic and back to basics of the brand that affords it a spot in whiskey drinkers’ hearts both young and old. Wild Turkey 101 isn’t the best bourbon available at any given moment, and it doesn’t pretend to be either. Instead, it’s a staple that all bourbon lovers should have on hand, and offered at a price that allows everyone to do just that.
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